Before the timelines cracked.Before the regressions.Before the world began to forget him—Ash Revenant was just a hunter with a quiet life and a purpose that didn't cost him everything.
The world had been living with dungeon gates for thirty years. No one knew where they came from—just that they opened like fractures in the sky, leaking monsters, chaos, and opportunity.
Hunters rose to meet the threat. Some awakened elemental affinities. Others wielded raw physical power. The rarest were the System-born—their powers bound by invisible screens and rules only they could see.
Ash was one of them.
His first dungeon clear was clean. Efficient. He wasn't flashy like the fire-wielders or the storm-callers. He didn't need to be.
He was steady.
His power, simple but brutal:Regression.Turn back time by seconds, minutes, even hours—but only for himself.
I thought I was invincible then.
His body always stayed intact. The wounds, the exhaustion—they vanished with each reset. A perfect second chance on demand.
He used to think it was a gift.
Ash's apartment back then was always warm. His little sister, Lina, would throw herself at him the moment he walked through the door.
"You're late!" she'd scold, arms crossed. "I saved you the last piece of cake, but if you're going to keep making me wait—"
He would ruffle her hair, smiling in that lazy way that made her puff her cheeks in fake anger.
"Long raid. Ogres this time."
She always softened when he mentioned raids. "Be careful, okay? Don't come home hurt."
"I can handle myself."I really thought I could.
The city bustled around dungeon breaks like they were weather patterns. Hunters patrolled the streets. Guild banners fluttered from high-rises. Support shops lined the blocks, selling enchanted gear and potion contracts.
Monsters came in waves, but humanity adapted fast. Dungeons meant danger—but they also meant power, money, and status.
Ash didn't chase glory. He joined the middle-tier Guild—not for prestige, but for stability. For Lina. For the home they were building together.
Captain Owen was more than just his team leader. He was family.
"You've got a solid head on your shoulders, Revenant," Owen told him once, after they cleared a Class B dungeon in record time. "You're not like the others. You don't rush. You think."
Ash shrugged, sliding his blade back into its sheath. "I just like staying alive."
Owen laughed, clapping him on the back. "Smart man."
I thought this was enough. A life where I wasn't the strongest, but I was steady. Reliable.
He never told Lina about the regression.
Not at first.
"Why would I scare her with that?" he'd tell himself. "It's not hurting me. I've got control."
And it worked. The rewinds were small. Tactical. A few seconds to dodge. A minute to correct a mistake. He could hold it.
Until the day he couldn't.